1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to vials and, particularly, to medical vials for storing semen.
2. Description of Related Art
Recently, techniques have been developed for artificially inseminating semen of a donor within a patient recipient. Typically, the semen must be stored, in a frozen state, for months or years prior to insemination. Accordingly, durable containers must be provided for safely and securely holding the semen within a cryogenic environment, such as a liquid nitrogen bath, until insemination.
Conventionally, small plastic vials having screw-on caps are used. A group of vials of uniform size and shape are mounted to a mounting rod prior to insertion into a liquid nitrogen bath. The mounting rod has sets of parallel flanges. The vials are snapped onto the mounting bar with each vial secured by a pair of flanges. The mounting bar is inserted vertically within the liquid nitrogen bath, with an upper end of the bar remaining above the surface of the liquid nitrogen to allow the rod to be easily inserted and removed.
Thus, once the semen of a donor is inserted into the vial, the cap is tightened onto the vial. Then the vial is mounted to the mounting bar and inserted into the liquid nitrogen bath. When the sample of semen is selected for use, the vial is removed from the bath, inserted within a smaller liquid nitrogen vessel, and shipped to a doctor's office. There, shortly prior to insemination, the vial is removed from the temporary liquid nitrogen vessel and allowed to thaw in hot water. The process of thawing typically takes five to ten minutes. Once thawed, the semen is examined for viability and, if viable, inseminated into the recipient patient.
The conventional vials provide a vessel which is suitably durable to withstand long-term freezing. However, the conventional vials have several drawbacks. Since the vials must be stored for months or years before use, it is important to ensure that the content of the vials cannot be tampered with. However, conventional vials are not tamper-proof, i.e., it is conceivable that the vials can be opened and the contents removed and replaced prior to final insemination. Thus, the integrity of a conventional semen storage system cannot be ensured.
Another drawback is that conventional vials do not include a secondary vessel for storing a test sample. Rather, a single vessel is provided for containing a sample of semen. Occasionally the samples, once thawed, are found to be not viable. With conventional vials, there is no easy means for keeping a sample portion of the semen at the cryogenic facility for testing the viability of the semen prior to shipment.
Finally, the conventional cylindrical vial is not adequately held within the mounting bars. Occasionally a vial may be accidentally detached from the mounting bar. A detached vial sinks to the bottom of the liquid nitrogen bath, where it is extremely difficult to retrieve.